History for the IB Diploma PAPER 3
Political Developments in the United States (1945–1980) and Canada (1945–1982) Mike Wells, Nick Fellows Series editor: Allan Todd
University Printing House, Cambridge cb2 8bs, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, ny 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia 4843/24, 2nd Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, Delhi – 110002, India 79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781316503737 © Cambridge University Press 2016 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2012 Second edition 2016 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United Kingdom by Latimer Trend A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library isbn 978-1-316-50373-7 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. notice to teachers in the uk It is illegal to reproduce any part of this work in material form (including photocopying and electronic storage) except under the following circumstances: (i) where you are abiding by a licence granted to your school or institution by the Copyright Licensing Agency; (ii) where no such licence exists, or where you wish to exceed the terms of a licence, and you have gained the written permission of Cambridge University Press; (iii) where you are allowed to reproduce without permission under the provisions of Chapter 3 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which covers, for example, the reproduction of short passages within certain types of educational anthology and reproduction for the purposes of setting examination questions. This material has been developed independently by the publisher and the content is in no way connected with nor endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization.
Contents 1 Introduction 2 The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower 2.1 What issues faced Truman in 1945 and how well did he deal with them? 2.2 What was Truman’s Fair Deal? 2.3 What was the significance of divisions within the Democratic Party and Congressional opposition? 2.4 What characterised Eisenhower’s domestic policies? 2.5 How successful were Eisenhower’s domestic policies? 3 Kennedy and the New Frontier; Johnson and the ‘Great Society’ 3.1 What was distinctive about Kennedy’s style, ideas and policies? 3.2 What was the New Frontier? 3.3 How much impact did the New Frontier have? 3.4 What was Johnson’s ‘Great Society’? 3.5 How far did Johnson fulfil his aims for the ‘Great Society’? 4 US domestic politics under Nixon, Ford and Carter 4.1 How successful were Nixon’s domestic policies? 4.2 What was the significance of the Watergate affair and Nixon’s possible impeachment? 4.3 What was the importance of Ford’s pardon of Nixon? 4.4 How successful were Ford’s domestic policies? 4.5 How successful were Carter’s domestic policies? 4.6 What impact did changing composition and internal conflicts within the Democratic and Republican Parties have on elections?
5 20 23 34 41 44 57 63 66 68 71 83 89 99 103 110 117 118 124
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5 Canadian domestic policy, 1945–82 5.1 How did Canada emerge from the Second World War? 5.2 How successful was Mackenzie King as Prime Minister? 5.3 Why did the Liberals fall from power in 1957? 5.4 Why was the period of Progressive Conservative rule in Canada so short lived? 5.5 How successful was the Pearson administration? 5.6 Why was Trudeau able to remain in power for so long?
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6 Quebec: The Quiet Revolution and Nationalism 6.1 What was the situation in Quebec under Maurice Duplessis? 6.2 What were the causes of the Silent Revolution? 6.3 What is meant by the term the ‘Silent’ or ‘Quiet Revolution’? 6.4 What were the consequences of the Silent Revolution? 6.5 Why did demands for further political change grow? 6.6 What were the causes of the October Crisis of 1970? 6.7 Why did Separatism fail?
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7 Exam practice
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Further reading
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142 146 147 151 159 167
186 190 194 197 201 202 205
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Index
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Acknowledgements
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Introduction
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This book is designed to prepare students for Political Developments in the United States (1945–1980) and Canada (1945–1982) This is Topic 15 in HL Option 2, History of the Americas for Paper 3 of the IB History examination. It introduces the main political developments of the period, and examines a selection of the political systems that characterised the Americas at the time. This book also explains some key political terms and concepts. Between 1945 and the 1980s, most countries in the Americas faced social, economic and political challenges. This book investigates how the USA dealt with these challenges immediately after the Second World War and beyond. It also examines the survival of democracy and unity in Canada, with specific consideration of the situation in Quebec.
ACTIVITY Democracy was the form of government in North America in the period 1945–79. It is therefore important that you have a clear understanding of the characteristics of democracy and how it functions. Using the internet and any other resources available to you, research the different types of democracy. What are the main characteristics of this form of government? What circumstances can cause the success or failure of a democracy?
Themes To help you prepare for your IB History exams, this book will cover the main themes and aspects relating to Political Developments in the United States (1945–1980) and Canada (1945–1982), as set out in the IB History Guide. In particular, it will consider the following key areas: • The domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower in the USA. How far did their policies meet the needs of a changing society in the USA? How effectively did they cope with the transition from war to peace? How successful were their policies in dealing with anticommunism and civil rights?
Introduction • Kennedy and the New Frontier, and Johnson and the ‘Great Society’ in the USA. How successfully did these presidents maintain the living standards of the American people? How far were the policies of the New Deal continued and developed? Why did the powers of the president and federal government increase? • The domestic policies of Nixon, Ford and Carter in the USA • How successfully did Nixon tackle domestic problems in the USA? What was the significance of the Watergate scandal for Nixon and for the presidency? How did Ford try to repair the damage done by Watergate and how well did he deal with mounting economic problems? How successful was Carter in dealing with economic and energy problems? How did differences develop within the political parties and what impact did this have on US politics? • The domestic policies in Canada from St Laurent to Trudeau • To what extent did domestic policies transform Canada? Why was the Liberal Party so dominant in Canadian politics during the period under study? Why did Trudeau dominate Canadian politics for so long? • The causes and consequences of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec and the attempts at separatism. • Why had Quebec been resistance to change? Why did Union Nationale dominance end? What were the long- and short-term causes of the Quiet Revolution? How far did the Quiet Revolution transform Quebec? Why did the demand for separatism grow? Why was separatism defeated?
Key Concepts Each chapter will help you focus on the main issues, and to compare and contrast the main developments that took place in the history of the USA and Canada during the forty years after 1945. In addition, at various points in the chapters, there will be questions and activities which will help you focus on the six Key Concepts – these are: • change • continuity • causation
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• consequence • significance • perspectives.
Theory of Knowledge In addition to the broad key themes, the chapters contain Theory of Knowledge (ToK) links, to get you thinking about aspects that relate to history, which is a Group 3 subject in the IB Diploma. The Political Developments topic has several clear links to ideas about knowledge and history. Political historians still debate why democracy survived in some parts of the Americas – notably in Canada and the USA – and not in others. They also question why some Latin American states experienced revolution, why populist or military regimes were installed in others, and why some of these regimes survived significantly longer than others. In addition, the period 1945– c.1980 witnessed an increased role for governments in domestic affairs. This can be seen particularly in social welfare policies such as Lyndon Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ in the USA, and in Lester Pearson’s welfare programme in Canada. Such policies also have links to ideas about knowledge and history. When trying to explain the policies implemented by leaders, the motives of those leaders, and the success or failure of the policies themselves, historians must decide which evidence to select and use to make their case and which evidence to leave out. But to what extent do the historians’ personal political views influence them when selecting what they consider to be the most important or relevant sources, and when they make judgements about the value and limitations of specific sources or sets of sources? Is there such a thing as objective ‘historical truth’? Or is there just a range of subjective historical opinions and interpretations about the past, which vary according to the political interests of individual historians?
Introduction You are therefore strongly advised to read a range of publications giving different interpretations of the theory and practice of the various policies attempted by the states discussed in this book. This will help you gain a clear understanding of the relevant historiographies (see Further reading).
IB History and Paper 3 questions Paper 3 In IB History, Paper 3 is taken only by Higher-Level students. For this paper, it specifies that three sections of an Option should be selected for in-depth study. The examination paper will set two questions on each of the eighteen sections – and you have to answer three questions in total. Unlike Paper 2, where there are sometimes regional restrictions, in Paper 3 you will be able to answer both questions from one section, with a third chosen from one of the other sections. These questions are essentially in-depth analytical essays. It is therefore important to study all the bullet points set out in the IB History Guide, in order to give yourself the widest possible choice of questions.
Exam skills Throughout the main chapters of this book, there are activities and questions to help you develop the understanding and the exam skills necessary for success in Paper 3.Your exam answers should demonstrate: • factual knowledge and understanding • awareness and understanding of historical interpretations • structured, analytical and balanced argument. Before attempting the specific exam practice questions that come at the end of each main chapter, you might find it useful to refer first to Chapter 7, the final exam practice chapter. This suggestion is based on the idea that if you know where you are supposed to be going (in this
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instance, gaining a good grade), and how to get there, you stand a better chance of reaching your destination!
Questions and mark schemes To ensure that you develop the necessary skills and understanding, each chapter contains comprehension questions and examination tips. For success in Paper 3, you need to produce essays that combine a number of features. In many ways, these require the same skills as the essays in Paper 2. However, for the Higher-Level Paper 3, examiners will be looking for greater evidence of sustained analysis and argument, linked closely to the demands of the question. They will also be seeking more depth and precision with regard to supporting knowledge. Finally, they will be expecting a clear and well-organised answer, so it is vital to do a rough plan before you start to answer a question.Your plan will show straight away whether or not you know enough about the topic to answer the question. It will also provide a good structure for your answer. It is particularly important to start by focusing closely on the wording of the question, so that you can identify its demands. If you simply assume that a question is generally about this period/leader, you will probably produce an answer that is essentially a narrative or story, with only vague links to the question. Even if your knowledge is detailed and accurate, it will only be broadly relevant. If you do this, you will get half-marks at most. Another important point is to make sure you present a well-structured and analytical argument that is clearly linked to all the demands of the question. Each aspect of your argument/analysis/explanation then needs to be supported by carefully selected, precise and relevant own knowledge. In addition, showing awareness and understanding of relevant historical debates and interpretations will help you to access the highest bands and marks. This does not mean simply repeating, in your own words, what different historians have said. Instead, try to critically evaluate particular interpretations. For example, are there any weaknesses in some arguments put forward by certain historians? What strengths does a particular interpretation have?
Introduction
Examiner’s tips To help you develop these skills, all chapters contain sample questions, with examiner’s tips about what to do (and what not to do) in order to achieve high marks. Each chapter will focus on a specific skill, as follows: • • • • • •
Skill 1 (Chapter 2) – understanding the wording of a question Skill 2 (Chapter 3) – planning an essay Skill 3 (Chapter 4) – writing an introductory paragraph Skill 4 (Chapter 5) – avoiding irrelevance Skill 5 (Chapter 5) – avoiding a narrative-based answer Skill 6 and Skill 7 (Chapter 6) – using your own knowledge analytically and combining it with awareness of historical debate, and writing a conclusion.
Some of these tips will contain parts of a student’s answer to a particular question, with examiner’s comments, to help you understand what examiners are looking for. This guidance is developed further in Chapter 7, the exam practice chapter, where examiner’s tips and comments will enable you to focus on the important aspects of questions and their answers. These examples will also help you avoid simple mistakes and oversights which, every year, result in some otherwise good students failing to gain the highest marks. For additional help, a simplified Paper 3 mark scheme in Chapter 7. This should make it easier to understand what examiners are looking for in your answers. The actual Paper 3 IB History mark scheme can be found on the IB website. This book will provide you with the historical knowledge and understanding to help you answer all the specific content bullet points set out in the IB History Guide. Also, by the time you have worked through the various exercises, you should have the skills necessary to construct relevant, clear, well-argued and well-supported essays.
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Background to the period The United States Throughout the 1930s, there was an unparalleled expansion of the role of the federal (central) government in the USA. To deal with the effects of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced a wide-ranging programme of reforms known as the New Deal. This included extending subsidies to farmers, financing large-scale public works, reforming banks, giving money to the arts, passing trade union reforms and generally making the government responsible for ‘relief, recovery and reform’. Such efforts challenged traditional beliefs in free enterprise and economic laissez faire (‘let it be’), and Roosevelt was accused of becoming a dictator by his political opponents and those who disliked government intervention in the economy. In 1939, the Second World War broke out in Europe. Up to this time, the USA had adopted a largely isolationist attitude towards European affairs, although this policy did not extend to Latin America or the Caribbean – or to the Pacific, in which region the USA was competing with Japan. However, it soon became clear that this would be a global conflict. Even before the USA officially entered the war in 1941, Roosevelt signed the Atlantic Charter – a document outlining the Allied vision of the post-war world. The Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the conflict to the Pacific. Shortly afterwards Germany declared war on the USA, allowing a fullscale US commitment to the Allies’ fight against Hitler. The Second World War transformed the US economy and had a profound effect on US society. Unlike many European countries, the US escaped direct damage from bombing raids. The need to produce war material resolved the problem of overcapacity in US industrial production that had characterised the Depression years. Total production (GNP) rose from $101 billion in 1940 to $215 billion in 1945. Unemployment – which had not dropped below 1.5 million in the New Deal years – virtually ended.
Introduction
Figure 1.1: Economic superpower: US aircraft production October 1942.
By 1945, the federal government directly or indirectly employed half the US workforce. The federal budget had risen from $8.5 billion in 1940 to over $100 billion. Goods were rationed, prices were controlled, rents and wages were regulated, and federal bureaucracy had broadened to previously unknown levels. The USA’s position on the world stage had also expanded. Throughout 1945, the US occupied large parts of central Europe and, later, Japan. As a result of this, the US was responsible for feeding millions of people across Europe and Asia. It was a leading power in the United Nations and had global responsibilities. In the space of about 15 years, therefore, the USA underwent dramatic changes in both domestic and foreign policy, and there were many who welcomed the changes. However, not all Americans were enthusiastic about these developments. • Traditionally, the power of the federal government was limited in comparison with that of individual state governments, but this had now changed. Many Americans wanted a greater balance between federal and state control. • Many people felt that the taxes and controls on economic activity were essentially un-American, and some even claimed that they were communist in nature. 13
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• As the US economy boomed in the post-war years, cities grew. Some people felt that this had caused an erosion of traditional small-town values. • The role of women and African Americans began to change, and many groups regarded this as an unwelcome development. • Membership of labour organisations rose dramatically during and immediately after the war, as people hoped there would be improvements in working conditions and wages. Between 1945 and 1947, there were a great many strikes. • More generally, there was a feeling that people wanted life to return to ‘normal’ after the difficult years of the Depression and the Second World War.
Canada In the early years of the 20th century, the Canadian economy relied heavily on the export of agricultural goods. As a result, the country was severely affected by the Great Depression, when the price of these goods declined dramatically. The export market, on which Canada relied, collapsed and unemployment reached record levels. The Liberal government that was in power when the Depression began did little to address the crisis and was defeated in the 1930 election. However, the Conservative government that replaced them offered only reform to tariffs, which made the crisis worse as it damaged exports, on which Canada relied. There was a change of direction in 1935, but the government was defeated and the Liberals were returned to power. Overall, the Liberal and Conservative governments, who were in power during the 1930s followed a policy of non-intervention. When, in 1935, the Conservative Prime Minister, R. B. Bennett offered the Canadian people a ‘New Deal’, similar to that offered to the American people by Roosevelt, he was not only defeated electorally, but the measures were ruled unconstitutional. Despite the failure of either government to introduce a programme of welfare and economic reforms during the worst of the crisis, the popularity of the two major parties remained largely intact. This was also seen in provincial elections, as seven of the provinces were still ruled by the Liberals in 1935, with only Alberta ruled by an anti-liberal group. In this sense, despite the difficulties, the population rejected any alternatives that were offered and returned parties and politicians that offered little state help.
Introduction The provinces made some attempts to bring in reforms, some of which were far-reaching, but in general their impact was limited. As a result, recovery was slow. It would not be government policies that ultimately solved the problems caused by the Depression, but an upturn in the trade cycle and, most importantly, the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Many of the volunteers who fought in the war were from the relief camps and work projects that had been established to deal with the Depression and the resulting unemployment. Canada emerged from the war a prosperous nation. By 1945, GNP had more than doubled from its pre-war levels. In addition, Canada had the third largest navy in the world and the fourth largest air force. The war strengthened the political and economic ties between Canada and the USA, and the countries signed two key defence agreements: the Ogdensburg Agreement (1940), which established a Joint Board to integrate defence, and the Hyde Park Declaration (1941), which coordinated the two nations’ war efforts. Critics such as Donald Creighton have argued that the Second World War brought Canada too far into the USA’s sphere of influence, particularly economically. The links between the two countries continued in the immediate post-war period, as Canada courted US investors. Ultimately, it was this close relationship that brought Canada into the Cold War, which developed almost as soon as the Second World War was over. William Mackenzie King, the Canadian Prime Minister from 1935 to 1948, preferred an isolationist policy. However, it was clear that staying out of a conflict in which the US was so deeply involved was not an option for Canada. Therefore, although this book focuses on domestic policies, an awareness of Canada’s key role in the 40-year Cold War is necessary in order to gain a clear understanding of domestic decision-making. Domestically, Canada experienced both turbulence and prosperity in the post-war years. Union membership and the number of strikes increased, but prices were low and incomes rose. The war had provided employment opportunities for women, but as men returned from the conflict women were expected to go back to their traditional roles in the home. Canada’s population boomed, increasing by 50% between 1946 and 1961. The social changes caused by this population growth were most noticeable in the development of a new, suburban commuter lifestyle, as Canada shifted from being a producer to a consumer society.
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ACTIVITY Before you begin to work your way through this book, try to find out a bit more about the USA and Canada in the 1930s and 1940s. Were the experiences of the Great Depression the same in both nations, or did they vary? What involvement did each country have in the Second World War?
Terminology and definitions In order to understand the political developments that took place in the USA and Canada after the Second World War, you will need to be familiar with a few basic terms – both technical terms and those relating to political ideologies.
Cold War This term is used to describe the conflict between the capitalist USA and the communist USSR, which began soon after the end of the Second World War and lasted until 1991. During this time, these two superpowers tried to extend their influence and spread their ideologies throughout the world. Although there was no actual fighting between the two countries, both powers became involved in conflicts elsewhere in the world, most notably in Korea and Vietnam. In Europe, there were disputes over the communist takeover of much of Eastern Europe, but Berlin became the centre of the conflict. The Cold War spread to the Americas with the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, and the US often supported dictatorial regimes in other parts of Latin America in the hope of preventing the spread of communism.
Communism In theory, communism is a social and economic system in which all significant aspects of a country’s economy are socially owned and managed. This means that they are run by the state or by local communities or cooperatives, rather than by the wealthy classes. Such social ownership is intended to create a classless society, in which
Introduction wealth is shared out equally among the people. These ideas came to prominence with the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. However, as practised in the Soviet Union, communism became a form of state socialism in which political power lay with the Communist Party and the economy was organised on the basis of central planning and collectivisation.
Democracy There are a number of types of democracy, but the most common form – and the one seen in practice in the Americas – is representative democracy, whereby the people elect representatives to rule on their behalf. In this system, the participation of the people is limited to the election, and it should be noted that in several Latin American states, ‘the people’ were only a small minority. The most common form of representative democracy is liberal democracy. In this form, there are checks on the power of the state so that the freedom and rights of individuals are preserved. There are regular, free elections and society is organised along capitalist lines.
Democrats The Democratic Party is one of the two main political parties in the USA. Democrats are usually in favour of some measure of welfare reform and support government intervention in the management of the economy.
Executive This is the branch of government that makes policy. In the USA, the Executive branch is made up of the President, the Cabinet and departments headed by secretaries. In Canada, the Executive comprises the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
Federal In the context of North America, ‘federal’ refers to the national government based in Washington (USA) or Ottawa (Canada). This is where the main government departments are situated. However, both nations have a federal structure, which means that power is shared between the central government and the government of each state (USA) or province (Canada). These state or provincial governments 17
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have substantial powers, and they can often be an obstacle to federal legislation. States in the US are run by a governor; provinces in Canada are headed by a premier.
National identity One of the key features of this period in Canadian history was the development of national feeling. Fighting in both wars had helped to create a sense of national identity, but the powers of each province limited this development. However, with Newfoundland joining Canada in 1949, the creation of a new national flag with the maple leaf in the middle in 1965, the Constitution Act of 1982, which gave Canada, rather than Britain, power over its own Constitution and a new national anthem, O Canada, much was done to help create a sense of national identity.
The House of Representatives and the Senate The legislative body in the USA – Congress – is made up of two chambers. The House of Representatives is the lower chamber. Each state elects a number of representatives depending upon the size of its population. One-third of members are elected every two years. The Senate is the upper chamber. Each state elects two representatives (senators), who serve six-year terms.
Republicans The Republicans are the other major political party in the USA. Republicans are usually more conservative than Democrats, and lie on the right wing of the political spectrum. They tend to believe in low taxes and minimal government intervention. The word republican is also used to refer to a system in which a president, rather than a hereditary monarch, is the head of state.
Separatism The province of Quebec, in Canada, was largely French-speaking and Roman Catholic, and therefore had a very different culture from other parts of Canada. During the period there was a growing desire among many in the province to become ‘separate’ or independent from Canada,
Introduction or at least re-negotiate their relationship with the other Canadian provinces in order to protect their distinctive culture.
Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the highest court in both the USA and Canada. It safeguards the country’s constitution and decides whether laws are constitutional or not. In the 1930s, both the governments of the USA and Canada had legislation rejected by their Supreme Courts.
Trade cycle The trade cycle describes the alternating pattern in the economy between periods of growth and prosperity and decline and decreased growth. Some argue that the world’s economy goes through a cycle of peaks and troughs in terms of prosperity and production. The Depression of the 1920s and 1930s was one of the troughs, but the recovery that took place towards the end of the 1930s was the result, not of government policies, but of a natural recovery.
Summary By the time you have worked through this book, you should be able to: • understand how effectively governments in the USA and Canada dealt with the social, economic and political challenges they faced in the period after the Second World War • assess the quality of leadership of successive US presidents and Canadian premiers • understand the significance of debates and divisions within the political parties in the USA • explain the reasons for the expansion of social provision in the USA and Canada • understand how effectively the governments of the USA and Canada dealt with the challenges to unity and society • show a broad understanding of why the period 1945–79 saw an increased role for the state in the USA and Canada.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower
The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower
Introduction This chapter deals with how the administrations of Truman and Eisenhower responded to the needs of US society after the Second World War. The Great Depression, the New Deal and the war itself all resulted in profound changes in US government and society. During the 1930s, Roosevelt’s New Deal attempted to tackle the effects of the Depression, but it was really the massive rearmament programme brought about by the Second World War that returned the US to full employment. The war also caused considerable economic and social change, and afterwards the US public expected its leaders to maintain the prosperity their country had enjoyed during the war years. On the international stage, the USA became a world power with global responsibilities. This affected domestic policy, as US leaders had to find the resources to maintain military forces as well as continuing the economic and social reforms begun before the war. This chapter considers the personalities and backgrounds of Truman and Eisenhower. Their main domestic policies are outlined, as well as how they dealt with the transition from war to peace. This section also discusses the economic and social issues that arose in the post-war years, including the wave of anti-communist feeling and the development of the civil rights movement. TIMELINE 1945 Apr: Roosevelt dies in office; Truman becomes President
May: Second World War in Europe ends
Sep: Second World War in the Pacific ends
1946 Mid-term elections increase Republican control of Congress 1947 Mar: Truman Doctrine announced 1948 Apr: Marshall Aid distributed in Europe
Aug: Alger Hiss accused of espionage
Nov: Truman wins re-election
1949 Jan: Truman announces Fair Deal
Aug: USSR explodes atomic bomb
1950 Jun: Korean War begins 1952 Nov: Eisenhower elected President 1954 Mid-term elections increase Democratic power in Congress; anti-communist senator Joseph McCarthy loses influence
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Political Developments in the United States and Canada 1956 Nov: Eisenhower re-elected 1957 Sep: Civil Rights Act passed 1958 Sep: Little Rock incident 1960 Nov: Kennedy elected President 1961 Jan: Eisenhower warns of power of military-industrial complex
KEY QUESTIONS • What issues faced Truman in 1945 and how well did he deal with them? • What was Truman’s Fair Deal? • What was the significance of divisions within the Democratic Party and Congressional opposition? • What characterised Eisenhower’s domestic policies? • How successful were Eisenhower’s domestic policies?
Overview • As Roosevelt’s Vice-President, Truman assumed the leadership when the President died in office in April 1945. In doing so, he stepped into the shoes of one of the USA’s most popular leaders. Roosevelt had introduced radical domestic changes in the 1930s, and brought the US into a foreign war that had made the country a global superpower. • To begin with, Truman’s domestic policy with its ‘Fair Deal’ remained faithful to the ideals of Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the new President maintained high levels of government control to ease the transition from war to peace. • A surprise victory in the 1948 presidential election kept Truman in office. After this, he introduced the ambitious Fair Deal programme, but many of these domestic reforms could not be put into practice. • Attempts at further reform were hindered by the USA’s involvement in the Korean War, which began in 1950. By 1952, Truman’s
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•
•
• •
popularity was declining and the USA was in the grip of anticommunist hysteria. The Republican Eisenhower was elected President in 1952, but he did not pursue conservative domestic policies to the extent that some in his party wished. He presided over the period known as the ‘Red Scare’, but he did not openly condemn extremism. Like Truman, Eisenhower found himself distracted from domestic issues by foreign affairs as the Cold War developed. Despite this, Eisenhower managed to maintain and even extend certain social policies throughout the 1950s. Civil rights emerged as a main issue in US political and social life from 1954, and in 1957 Eisenhower pushed through the first Civil Rights Act in over 80 years. Having served two terms, Eisenhower could not run for re-election in 1960, and the Democrat John F. Kennedy defeated Eisenhower’s Vice-President, Richard Nixon, by a small majority.
2.1 What issues faced Truman in 1945 and how well did he deal with them? Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office on 12 April 1945, while the USA was still at war. He was succeeded by his Vice-President, Harry S Truman. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945): Born into a wealthy New York family, Roosevelt rose in Democratic politics and became governor of New York. He was elected President in 1932 and soon introduced his New Deal programme of reforms, a large-scale plan to use federal government resources to combat the effects of the Depression and bring about reform in US society. Roosevelt led the USA in the Second World War, but died in April 1945, shortly after beginning his fourth term in office.
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Harry S Truman (1884–1972): Truman came from a family of farmers, and worked as a bank clerk as well as on the family farm. He joined the army and fought in France in the First World War, rising to the rank of captain. After the war, Truman used his army connections to get into politics, and he became a judge in Jackson County, Missouri, in 1926. This was an administrative rather than a legal post, and one of his major achievements was to build new roads in the county.
The Democratic Party in Missouri was dominated by a career politician – ‘Boss’ Tom Prendergast. In 1934, Prendergast backed Truman’s campaign for the Senate, although at the time he won little attention from President Roosevelt. As a senator, Truman quickly earned a reputation for efficiency, and he got approval for a Senate committee on the National Defense Program to investigate poor performance by defence contractors. This role became a key part of the war effort after the US joined the Second World War in December 1941. Truman was a loyal supporter of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, and his energy and honesty made him the Democrats’ choice for Vice-President in the 1944 election campaign. He had a reputation as a straight-talking, typical American and a good family man. In fact, Truman had not wanted the nomination and had little desire to be President.
The transition from war to peace On taking power, Truman was aware that the unprecedented militarisation of the USA and the increase in government control of everyday life had become unpopular. Prices, rents, wages, the supply of food and raw materials, and the drafting of civilians into war service all contradicted US traditions of freedom and limited government power. Half the working population was employed directly or indirectly by the government, and 16 million US citizens had been drafted to fight for their country. Truman knew that the American people now wanted life to return to normal. The Republicans began calling for an end to government economic controls as soon as the war was over. However, Truman feared that a sudden withdrawal of government contracts, subsidies and controls might result in inflation and widespread unemployment across the USA.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Above all else, he wanted to avoid another economic depression like that of the 1930s.
Figure 2.1: American statesman Harry S Truman (1884–1972), the 33rd President of the United States of America.
Influenced by New Deal policies, and anxious to avoid social and political unrest, Truman was careful to maintain government controls. In his ‘hold the line’ Executive Order of August 1945, he extended wartime federal powers to peacetime – particularly those of the Office of Price Administration (OPA), which set price controls and rents. In September 1945, Truman also proposed a programme to maintain full employment. This included a house-building programme and a rise in the minimum wage. The government provided loans for ex-servicemen to buy homes, and offered grants for both training and education. Despite the wishes of the Republicans, therefore, there was no sudden end to federal economic controls, and the transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy was successful. Towards the end of 1946, prices began to rise significantly, but by this time economic activity was
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enough to ensure that wages and employment increased to keep pace with the price rises. In the early post-war years, Truman also faced several foreign policy issues. He was more suspicious of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin than Roosevelt had been, and disliked the spread of Soviet power throughout Eastern Europe. Despite the rapidly developing Cold War, Truman’s administration came under pressure to demobilise US forces and reduce the military budget. In the first year after the war, Truman reduced the armed forces from 12 million to 3 million. Eisenhower – supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during the war – famously claimed that the US had ‘run out of army’ by 1946.
Labour unrest The Second World War led to an increase in the membership and status of labour organisations in the USA. These groups were determined that the gains they had made in wages and working conditions during the war should not be lost. By the beginning of 1946, as peacetime brought wage reductions and less favourable working conditions, major strikes began to take place in key defence industries such as coal, iron and steel, railways and electricity. At a time when the USA claimed to be facing a threat from the Soviet Union, such action was felt to be intolerable, and in May 1946 the government took control of the railroads. Truman then went even further, and asked Congress for powers to draft railroad workers into the army. The Senate blocked the proposal, believing it was a threat to the liberty of US citizens. Truman also took control of the coal mines. Coal was essential to US power supplies and rail transport. When the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), under its leader John L. Lewis, refused to honour an agreement negotiated by the government, Truman took Lewis to court and the union was fined for breach of contract. John L. Lewis (1880–1969): Lewis was a major figure in US labor history and founded the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), a federation of trades unions, in 1938. He was President of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. A major supporter of the New Deal, Lewis helped to get Roosevelt elected, but his popularity declined after he organised coal strikes during the Second World War.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Truman believed that the strikes threatened national security, and he took extreme measures to end this threat. Although the war was over Truman maintained a wartime mentality, believing that the USA continued to face a national emergency and that the government had a right to take whatever steps were necessary to deal with this. However, his actions cost him the considerable support of the unions, which had previously been allies of the Democratic Party. In fact, Truman was not as anti-union as the Republicans – or even some members of his own party. However, he opposed the Taft–Hartley Act, which ended the closed shop policy (by which all employees in a business or factory had to belong to a trade union), banned political payments by unions and strikes by government employees, and made it illegal for union officials to be communists. The Taft–Hartley Act was made law in 1947, despite the President’s opposition.
The mid-term elections, 1946 Despite his early successes, by 1946 Truman was becoming increasingly unpopular. Unions disliked his hard line; prices were rising and those soldiers still waiting to be demobilised were growing restless and resentful. The Republicans once more urged economic freedom. Under the slogan ‘Had Enough?’ they demanded a reduction in taxes and greater limits on government control. In the 1946 mid-term elections the Republicans won control of Congress, and government now became a struggle between the Executive (the President) and the Legislature (Congress). The fact that Truman had not been elected President weakened him – there were even some Democrats who felt that he was ill-equipped to lead the country. Truman tried to boost his popularity by proposing a series of social reforms in the New Deal tradition. In truth, the country could not afford to implement these reforms – and Truman knew it. However, he also knew that the conservative-dominated Congress would not approve the proposals, so he could portray himself as a reforming President working in the interests of the people, without having to follow through on the changes. He put forward plans for health and education reforms, and suggested more subsidies for farmers and a repeal of hostile labour legislation. As expected, Congress rejected all these proposals.
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ACTIVITY In groups, decide on the key features of the USA’s domestic transition from war to peace. Write each feature on a card and give Truman a mark out of six for his handling of each one. On the back of the card explain the mark you have allocated. Report the marks you have given to the other groups, and then hold a class discussion to come to an agreement on the features and how successfully Truman handled them.
Civil rights The increasing participation of African Americans in vital industries and in the armed forces raised questions about their status in the post-war USA, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) experienced a dramatic increase in membership. The USA claimed to be the champion of freedom, and had fought a war against racist regimes, yet discrimination against African Americans continued and laws dating from the 1890s still restricted their civil rights. African Americans who had served in the armed forces had witnessed the greater racial tolerance in other countries, so when they returned from war service they found discrimination at home harder to bear. This resulted in an increase in incidents of racial violence. As racial tension grew in the South, Truman established the Civil Rights Committee to investigate the issue. The committee’s report recommended changes to end abuses, and in 1948 Truman proposed measures to end restrictions on black voting in the South and to make lynching a federal offence. This would prevent local police and judges allowing race crimes to go unpunished. Southern Democrats were furious, and in 1948 a group of them set up their own party – the States’ Rights Democratic Party, or ‘Dixiecrats’. In the past, reforming Democratic presidents had often had to deal with an uneasy alliance of northern progressives and southern white supremacists, but Truman was determined not to be controlled by this faction of his own party. Instead, he pursued his agenda of reform in several ways: • He ordered desegregation to begin in the armed forces. • He banned discrimination in federal employment and in hotels in Washington, DC. 28
The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower • He refused to give government contracts to firms that discriminated against African American employees. • He appointed the first African American federal judge. These measures lay within Truman’s existing powers as commanderin-chief and head of the federal government. However, more general legislation depended on congressional approval, so further progress in civil rights was limited.
SOURCE 2.1 We have reached a turning point in the long history of our country’s efforts to guarantee freedom and equality to all our citizens. Recent events in the United States and abroad have made us realise that it is more important today than ever before to insure that all Americans enjoy these rights… When I say all Americans I mean all Americans… We must keep moving forward, with new concepts of civil rights to safeguard our heritage. The extension of civil rights today means, not protection of the people against the Government, but protection of the people by the Government. We must make the Federal Government a friendly, vigilant defender of the rights and equalities of all Americans. And again I mean all Americans… Each man must be guaranteed equality of opportunity. The only limit to an American’s achievement should be his ability, his industry, and his character. These rewards for his effort should be determined only by those truly relevant qualities. Extract from a speech made by Harry S. Truman to the NAACP, 29 June 1947. From Miller Center for Public Affairs, University of Virginia, miller-center.org
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QUESTION Read Source 2.1 and then answer the following questions. • What was Truman’s concept of civil rights? • What actions did Truman take that show he was a ‘vigilant defender of the rights and equalities’ of African Americans? • Is it fair to say that Truman offered more than he delivered on civil rights? • What obstacles were there to a more energetic civil rights policy in Truman’s time in office?
DISCUSSION POINT Historian James T. Patterson takes a less than enthusiastic view of Truman’s record on civil rights: ‘Speaking for civil rights… was not the same as taking decisive action. When it came to that, Truman moved slowly.’ Patterson argues that Truman did not believe in integration and used racist terms in private. He also points out that Truman failed to issue Executive Orders against discrimination in the armed forces and civil service in 1948. It was only in 1954 that desegregation in the armed services was complete. Even then, there were few African American officers. Consider the view that by raising awareness of civil rights issues, and by proposing measures such as an anti-lynching law, Truman made a major contribution to civil rights. Then consider the view that all Truman offered was talk, an over-cautious attitude and a series of failed measures. Which case do you find more convincing?
The 1948 election By 1948, Truman had implemented a number of successful reforms. For example, he had made several aspects of government more efficient. Congress approved the creation of a new Department of Defense, merging the old Departments of War and Navy. The National Security Council (NSC) was established, as was the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In the Cold War context, such measures were regarded as valuable streamlining. However, a proposal to create a Department of
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Health and Welfare was rejected by Congress, which was anxious not to further extend the state’s control over its citizens. Despite his successes, Truman also faced several difficulties. He took a hard line against communism abroad by launching the Truman Doctrine in 1947, in which he pledged US support for any country threatened by communism. The following year, the Marshall Plan was implemented, giving financial aid to war-torn Europe. In theory this was available to any European country, but in practice only the ‘free’ (capitalist) countries of Western Europe benefited. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan clearly established the USA as a protector of the capitalist world against the spread of communism. Conservative elements in the US accepted this position, but those with more liberal political leanings regarded Truman’s anticommunist policies as an open-ended and dangerous commitment to affairs beyond the USA’s borders. Conservative support for Truman did not extend to his domestic policies. Many objected to his liberal attitude on issues such as health reform and civil rights. Organised labour – one of the Democratic Party’s main sources of support – was offended by Truman’s actions over the labour strikes, and southern Democrats were angry about his civil rights policies. Increasingly regarded as too conservative by the liberals and too liberal by the conservatives, it seemed unlikely that Truman could win the 1948 presidential election. The Republicans had a strong candidate in Thomas Dewey, while the Democrats were divided between the Dixiecrats (see Section 2.3) and the northern-based Progressive Party of America (PPA). The opinion polls were unanimous in predicting Truman’s defeat. Thomas Dewey (1902–71): Dewey was a brilliant lawyer and the governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. With the strong support of US business interests, he ran in the 1944 presidential election campaign, but lost to the sitting president, Roosevelt. Moderate and articulate, Dewey seemed a sure winner against Truman in 1948, but his election campaign was not well run, and he suffered a surprise defeat. He later retired from political life and returned to his law practice.
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Figure 2.2: Republican candidate Thomas Dewey (right) during the 1948 presidential election campaign.
The Republicans fully expected to win the election, and Dewey’s campaign was conducted cautiously in order to maintain the status quo. In contrast, Truman launched a vigorous campaign late in the run-up to the election. He travelled up and down the country, giving spirited speeches in defence of his policies and attacking his opponents. In particular, he criticised the Republican Congress for blocking social and economic reform. Historian Robert Ferrell remarks that ‘in 1948 Truman was for the first time in his life a dynamic campaigner’. Contrary to all expectations, Truman won the election and – crucially – the Democrats regained control of Congress. Truman believed that his victory was due to support for his social reform programme, but many historians have argued that it was circumstances rather than personal popularity or support for his agenda that led to Truman’s success in 1948.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Four years later, facing stronger opponents, Truman decided not to seek re-election and the Democrats lost heavily. In addition, Truman’s victory in 1948 was not decisive – he only gained 49.5% of the popular vote. However, he won without the support of white southerners, and this opened the way for greater civil rights reform. Truman also felt confident enough to relaunch his programme of social reform.
Figure 2.3: A triumphant Truman displays a premature headline in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1948.
KEY CONCEPTS QUESTION Significance: What do you think was the main reason for Truman’s election victory in 1948?
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2.2 What was Truman’s Fair Deal? Formally announced in January 1949, but reflecting earlier policy statements, the Fair Deal had echoes of Roosevelt’s New Deal of the 1930s. It proposed: • • • • • • • •
more civil rights reforms unemployment benefits support for house-building federal aid for education tax relief for low earners a repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act a higher minimum wage help for the agricultural sector.
After 1948, Truman had enough support in Congress for some of these proposals to become law. A total of 800 000 houses were to be built by 1955, and the minimum wage rose from 40 cents to 75 cents an hour. Social Security was extended and a Displaced Persons Act allowed 40 0000 refugees from Europe to enter the USA. The Hill–Burton Act approved federal and state support for public hospitals. However, much of the Fair Deal was blocked by an alliance of Republicans and Dixiecrat conservatives. More policies were proposed than achieved, but Truman kept alive the idea that government was responsible for the welfare of its people. In the 1950 mid-term elections, however, the Republicans increased their seats in Congress once more, and the Fair Deal effectively came to an end.
How far did the Fair Deal meet its aims? There has been some historical debate about Truman’s success with the Fair Deal. Conservative historians such as Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen argue that by raising the minimum wage, making an additional 10 million people eligible for Social Security benefits, and through federal slum clearance and housing projects, Truman successfully continued the New Deal of the 1930s. Many liberals agree with this view.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower In an address to Physicians for a National Health Program in 1999, Dr Karen S. Palmer claimed that Truman was more radical in his healthcare proposals than the New Deal had been: ‘It was Truman who proposed a single egalitarian system that included all classes of society.’ An alternative modern view is that there was a lot of support for continuing the New Deal policies, but that Truman was not a driving force in their planning, and only offered limited leadership. The real influence came from the ongoing support for state intervention that had developed during the years of the Depression and the Second World War. In particular, the Republicans had accepted the reforms brought about by the New Deal, and Truman offered little that was distinctive.
SOURCE 2.2 Admirers of Truman contend that he was… a saviour of liberalism and the New Deal… But Truman’s role… should not be exaggerated. Much more important in preserving the New Deal were political forces established before Truman took office. By 1945 most Americans had accepted Roosevelt and programmes such as Social Security. Patterson, J. 1998. Grand Expectations: The United States. Oxford. Oxford University Press. p. 164.
QUESTION What does Source 2.2 mean by Truman being seen as ‘a savior of liberalism’? In what ways did the Fair Deal show that Truman was a follower of the New Deal? Why does Source 2.2 cast doubt on how liberal the Fair Deal was?
Some historians are sceptical about how much was really achieved by the Fair Deal. For example, Hugh Brogan questions the results of the programme, pointing out the poor quality of the new federal housing and the government’s failure to pass a health bill, an anti-lynching law or a bill on fair employment practices.
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ACTIVITY Plan a short essay entitled ‘How Important was Truman’s Fair Deal?’ In pairs, consider how you might deal with the issue of importance – was it important for what it actually achieved or important for what it stood for in post-war America? Write an introduction to your essay that sets out the issues about importance, and then consider what points you would use to support your argument.
Why did Eisenhower win the 1952 presidential election? Truman’s second administration At the same time as Truman was pushing through domestic reform, he was also dealing with events in the wider world. This included Germany – and Berlin – which, after the war, had been temporarily divided into zones of occupation run by the USA, Britain, France and the USSR. In 1948, following the West’s unilateral imposition of a new currency for its zones, the USSR blockaded Berlin. The USA and Britain coordinated the Berlin Airlift, by which supplies were flown into the besieged city. In addition, in 1950 communist North Korea invaded South Korea, drawing the USA into a three-year war in the region. Truman’s administration was also weakened by increasing concerns in the USA about the influence of communists in government and the socalled ‘Red Scare’ – a more widespread fear of communist infiltration in US society. In 1945, there were accusations that official US documents had been leaked to a left-wing journal called Amerasia. In 1949, the USSR successfully exploded its first nuclear bomb – a development that many Americans believed was only possible because US atomic secrets had been passed to the Soviets by spies. This led to the arrest and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1953.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Julius (1918–53) and Ethel (1915–53) Rosenberg: Husband and wife Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were communist supporters. After Ethel’s brother David Greenglass was arrested for spying, Ethel and Julius were named as co-conspirators in the wartime spy network. Despite protesting their innocence, they were both executed in 1953. Documents released in the 1990s confirmed Julius Rosenberg’s guilt, but Ethel’s involvement remains uncertain.
Communist supporters in the USA made up less than 1% of the population, but many people believed that they had infiltrated key positions in society. Truman responded to these concerns in 1947 by introducing a loyalty programme. The loyalty of all federal employees was assessed by the FBI and a civil service commission. Membership of certain organisations, including the Communist Party, was regarded as incompatible with loyalty towards the USA. In all, around 3 million people were investigated and 212 were dismissed from their jobs. In part, the continued spread of the Red Scare was due to the high-profile case involving a leading government advisor, Alger Hiss. Hiss was an intellectual from a wealthy background who worked in Roosevelt’s State Department and who had been a confidential aide of the President. In 1948, Whittaker Chambers, an editor at Time magazine, accused Hiss of being a Soviet spy. Chambers claimed that Hiss had recruited him and led him to take part in copying and hiding official documents that were then passed to the Soviets. Hiss was found guilty of perjury in January 1950 and sent to prison for five years. In the wake of the Hiss trial, the government arrested leaders of the Communist Party for violating the Smith Act, which made urging the violent overthrow of government illegal. Then, on 9 February 1950, Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy made a speech in which he claimed to have a list of 250 communists working in the State Department.
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Joseph McCarthy (1908–57): McCarthy became a Republican senator for Wisconsin in 1945. In 1950, he began his campaign against suspected communists in the US administration. In 1952, he used the House Un-American Activities Committee, but had no real evidence to back up his claims. McCarthy began to lose credibility in 1954, after failing to supply any proof during a televised hearing. Despite this, he went on to accuse the army and even Eisenhower of communist activities.
Figure 2.4: Alger Hiss takes the oath before giving evidence to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in 1948.
A committee was established to investigate this claim, and McCarthy made various accusations. However, Truman ordered the release of FBI files on the accused, which demonstrated no evidence of disloyalty or communist activity.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower The committee condemned McCarthy as a trouble-maker, but he had a great deal of support among Republicans in Congress, and the Red Scare continued. Truman opposed but could not stop the McCarran Act, a law against communist activity that even allowed for the establishment of concentration camps for subversives. In 1952, a congressional immigration act banned communists from entering the USA. The 1952 election In the midst of this growing hysteria, Truman was accused of being ‘soft’ on communism. In addition, he was associated with the lack of progress being made in the Korean War, poor handling of a steel strike in 1952 (in which he brought the steelworks under government control), and revelations of corruption in government. He was also accused of failing to halt the spread of organised crime in the USA. As his popularity declined, Truman stood down from the presidential race. The Republicans chose the popular war leader Dwight D. Eisenhower as their candidate, with the anti-communist Richard Nixon as his running mate. They campaigned strongly against the Korean War and the two ‘Cs’ in government – corruption and communists. They also offered lower taxes and less government interference. All these strategies won the support of the people, and Eisenhower took the popular vote by a majority of 6 million. The Republicans also won a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as a high number of state governorships. For the first time since 1933, the Republicans were back in power.
QUESTION Using the information given in this chapter and any other resources available to you, find as much support as you can for the two views expressed in Sources 2.3 and 2.4. Which view do you find most convincing?
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SOURCE 2.3 Truman oversaw the conversion of the American economy from its World War II footing to one that emphasized both consumer and military production. Truman protected the New Deal and—with a rise in the minimum wage in 1949 and the enlargement of Social Security in 1950—built upon its achievements. He pushed forward the cause of African American civil rights by desegregating the military, by banning discrimination in the civil service, and by commissioning a federal report on civil rights. Just as important, Truman spoke out publicly on the matter. Finally, Truman engineered one of the most unexpected comeback victories in American political history. From Miller Center for Public Affairs, University of Virginia, millercenter.org
SOURCE 2.4 Some historians argue that Truman responded too slowly and weakly to Senator McCarthy and that his support for African American civil rights was underwhelming. Finally, many historians contend that Truman grievously erred in 1946 and 1949 by advocating liberal initiatives that expanded the welfare state and increased government intervention in the nation’s economy, for which a conservative polity had no appetite. From Miller Center for Public Affairs, University of Virginia, millercenter.org
Truman: an assessment It is probably an exaggeration to suggest that Truman played no part in preserving or extending the liberal policies of the New Deal. In particular, he demonstrated decisiveness in his stand against the Dixiecrat opposition to civil rights reform. However, internal policy was limited by the US Constitution and the power of Congress to block legislation.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Truman raised key issues and tried to adjust domestic policy to encourage social change. More radical actions would have been rejected by Congress and occupied time that Truman could not devote to internal policies while dealing with wider Cold War issues. Much of Truman’s presidency was concerned with foreign rather than domestic affairs, and the Fair Deal was hindered by the need to allocate resources to the Korean War in 1950. Fears of communist infiltration within the USA grew from events in the wider world and revelations about espionage that were beyond Truman’s control. He and other opponents of anti-communist hysteria found it difficult to stop the Red Scare gaining momentum. Some historians have condemned Truman for not doing more, but it is also possible to argue that he battled courageously with opposition in Congress, and fought to protect the ideals of the New Deal in a hostile national and international environment.
2.3 What was the significance of divisions within the Democratic Party and Congressional opposition? The Democrats were an alliance of progressive and liberal elements in the North who had supported the New Deal policies in the 1930s and Southern politicians, many of whom defended the interests of the white majority and were opposed to civil rights. The influence of these powerful southern congressmen and senators had restricted New Deal help for African Americans and made it difficult for Truman to act on civil rights. Southern Democrats were furious at his proposals, and in 1948 a group of them set up their own party – the States’ Rights Democratic Party, or ‘Dixiecrats’.
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The trigger for the creation of the States’ Rights Democratic party was Truman’s executive order for desegregation in the armed forces in 1948 and his inclusion of civil rights in the Democratic party platform for the election of that year. At the party convention the delegates from Alabama and Mississippi walked out in protest. Joined by some delegates from other states, though not all, they chose the South Carolina Governor, Strom Thurmond, as an alternative presidential candidate. The hope was that this third force would prevent either the official Democrats or the Republicans getting a majority in the electoral college and that the election would be decided in the House of Representatives. In Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina Thurmond was the ‘official’ Democratic candidate. Thurmond was successful in these ‘deep South’ states but not in any state where he stood against Truman. The party dissolved after the election and Truman was re-elected to office, but the Democratic party was divided and the Southern democrats in Congress were resentful. In the long term the division led to the re-emergence of the Republicans in the South by the 1960s. The Republicans were still in 1948 associated with progressive policies towards African Americans after the civil war and with Northern business and commercial interests, but this changed with increasing links between Republican and Southern conservatives who opposed the power of the Federal Government, civil rights and shared a fear of communism. Truman had to negotiate with discontented elements of his own party and also faced the problem that the mid-term elections of 1950 increased the representation of the Republicans in Congress. The alliance of conservative Democrats and Republicans effectively blocked not only further Civil Rights reforms but also much of the Fair Deal. Truman’s ideas for increased health care, for instance, was seen to be too radical by a Congress majority whose views were influenced by a move way from a belief in greater state intervention which had characterised the New Deal and the wartime period to a more traditional, conservative and individualistic approach.
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Figure 2.5: Strom Thurmond speaking at the Democratic Convention on 14 July 1948. He was one of the southern ‘Dixiecrats’ who, angered by Truman’s support of civil rights and opposition to lynching, later left the Democrats and formed the States Rights Party.
This was partly a reaction to the spread of communism in Eastern Europe and China and partly a reaction to greater prosperity and economic growth which seemed to confirm that private enterprise and ‘small government’ was the American Way to progress. By 1952 Truman had limited ability to carry out his reforming programme and with a divided party and a shift to the right in the USA with the Red Scare and the hysteria over McCarthy’s accusations, the stage was set for a return to Republican rule.
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2.4 What characterised Eisenhower’s domestic policies? Dwight D. Eisenhower The new President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, grew up in Abilene, Kansas, where his family ran a creamery. In 1911, he won a place at West Point military academy. As a military trainer, he did not see combat in the First World War, but from 1927 he worked as a military historian and then a planner. He rose to the rank of brigadier general, and was known for his skilful organisation in military exercises. A leading Allied army general during the Second World War, Eisenhower later became NATO’s first supreme commander. He dealt diplomatically with his fellow generals, and he had a good understanding of global affairs. The USA had a tradition of soldier presidents, and many felt reassured by Eisenhower. During the election, his role as a national hero secured him a lot of ‘floating votes’, but he also benefited from the splits in the Democratic Party and Truman’s unpopularity in his last years in office. Eisenhower stood out as a man who had not previously been associated with local politics or played a part in government. Eisenhower’s views on social policy were different from Truman’s, and he believed in individual responsibility rather than government backing. He was a supporter of big business (his first Cabinet contained eight millionaires) and distrusted large and powerful government. From the start, Eisenhower declared his aim of reducing federal influence and spending, in line with pre-war Republican policies. His Cabinet reflected that of the Republican governments of the 1930s – Hoover had also chosen people with business associations. Eisenhower’s style of government was based on his experiences in the army, and he relied on his Cabinet members, his advisors and his chief of staff Sherman Adams. He allowed his subordinates the freedom to implement policies in the way they believed best, rather than maintaining strict presidential control.
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The USA: the domestic policies of Truman and Eisenhower Sherman Adams (1899–1986): Adams was a Republican politician and former governor of New Hampshire. As a businessman, he believed strongly in controlling government expenditure and he encouraged Eisenhower in making changes to US economic policy. Adams resigned in 1958 after being accused of taking bribes.
Figure 2.6: At the Republican National Convention, American politicians Richard M Nixon (1913 – 1994) (left) and Dwight D Eisenhower (1890 - 1969) are nominated for Vice President and President, respectively, 1952.
ACTIVITY Use the internet to find out more about the lives of Truman and Eisenhower before they each took office. Write a brief comparison of their personalities and backgrounds. Who do you think was better suited to the role of President?
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Figure 2.7: A Republican campaign poster from 1952, showing Eisenhower and Nixon.
The situation by 1953 Eisenhower inherited significant and costly foreign policy commitments from the outgoing administration. He also faced demands from the American public for greater economic freedom and a reduction in government interference in daily life. In addition, there was increasing pressure for social change, notably in civil rights. Perhaps most significantly, the new President had to deal with the same anxieties about national security and fears of communism that had played a key part in the Democrats’ defeat. In practice, Eisenhower found he could do little more than Truman to control the tide of anticommunist agitation in the USA during his presidency.
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Anti-communist hysteria By the time Eisenhower took over, the anti-communist movement had grown even more influential. In private, Eisenhower was critical of communist hysteria in general and McCarthy’s actions (see 2.2, Truman’s second administration) in particular. However, he did not openly condemn anti-communism. Under pressure from McCarthy’s supporters, embassies burned books believed to have been written by communists. One Indiana school board even banned books featuring Robin Hood, claiming that the legendary figure was a communist, stealing from the rich. McCarthy was made chairman of the Senate Permanent Investigation Subcommittee, which allowed him even greater freedom to investigate suspected communists in public life. In 1954, Congress banned the Communist Party. Increasing numbers of federal employees were dismissed as security risks – a total of 2400 in 1954 alone. McCarthy even began accusing Protestant clergymen of being communists, but still Eisenhower did not confront him. It was only when McCarthy attacked a respected army dentist that he began to fall from public favour. The trial was televised, and McCarthy’s disrespectful behaviour and lack of proof angered both the viewing public and many people in positions of authority. His support declined, and by 1955 McCarthy had been publicly reprimanded by the Senate and alienated by Eisenhower’s administration.
QUESTION What is the message of the cartoon in Figure 2.8?
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Figure 2.8: A cartoon from 1953 commenting on how McCarthy appeared to be controlling Eisenhower.
ACTIVITY In groups of four or five, imagine you are the President’s advisors in 1953. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of openly opposing McCarthy and the anti-communist campaign. Afterwards, discuss among yourselves why Eisenhower did not take firmer action. Do you think he took the right approach?
Financial matters During the 1952 election campaign, Eisenhower and the Republicans promised to reduce federal spending and taxation. After taking office, Eisenhower initially cut back on military spending, but there was no reduction in other areas of federal outlay. He failed to meet his aim of balancing income and expenditure, and there were budget deficits for most years in the period 1953–62. 48